present

i am currently baking a prototype for a couple of christmas presents. i am giving away do-it-yourself-food this year :)

whoa, i am stuffed! and you?

the 2nd day of my time consuming christmas baking

lets start the second day of this overnight adventure, shall we?


now, while the dough must be chilled thoroughly i left mine out on the deck overnight - silly me - and sure, it was frozen. -3°c out on the deck does not equal "chilling", it equals "freezing", stupid! it's not intended to end up like that and i had to thaw the lump of dough for a couple of hours inside before i proceeded with the recipe. what an unnecessary step, right? plus, it added a couple of more hours in this loooong baking adventure to begin with ... i suggest you handle that one differently. i don't think there was any harm done to the dough, but according to the recipe you need to only chill it overnight. i will definitely use the fridge next time too.

i rolled out a few smaller portions to about 3 mm thickness. i cut with christmas cookie cutters and placed them on a cookie sheet before baking the cookies at 175° c for about 10 minutes. i finally put them on a rack to cool. you have to work quickly when you roll out and cut the dough because it is very crumbly and handling it can become somewhat nerve-recking!

the last step of assembling the cookies is easy but somewhat time consuming (aaaaw, again?): spead black current jelly on a flat and round cookie and put a zig-zag one on top. coat the cookie-stack with melted chocolate and decorate with half an almond.

as you can see, i used different shapes too. i was assembling only equal shapes though you're supposed to put a smaller cookie on top of a big one ...

mh, nevermind. they still taste perfect this way! i might do a little more "mix and match" as far as the shapes are concerned the next time. no, wait, next time? there is no way in hell i am going to make such sumptuously cookies again!

yes, i took pictures. so here is my fotolove/hate-story:






too much of a hassle, let me tell you!
don't try them at home!

time consuming christmas baking

in my venture to make traditional christmas cookies with healthier ingredients i took on österreichische brabanzerl today. neither do i have a clue what brabanzerl actually are, nor have i ever heard the word brabanzerl itself. it might be something from tirol or vorarlberg or even switzerland ... some similar christmas baking originated here in the bohemian forest, but we use ground hazelnuts instead of the almonds, we don't add chocolate either and we don't have to store the dough overnight (huh, it looks like our recipe is totally different after all!) ... we simply call those cookies biscuits that are stuck together. sounds equally silly - i don't even know if they have a real name. they probably do, but we've never called them anything else than zusammengepickte kekse. i am really curious if the original recipe will taste any good with spelt flour and brown sugar ...


150 g spelt flour (original ingredient: wheat flour)
50 g ground almonds
50 g brown sugar (original ingredient: white caster sugar)
50 g melted dark chocolate
150 g soft margarine (i suppose you could substitute margarine for butter)



mix all ingredients together and store overnight in the refrigerator. out on my deck it's minus 3°c so i'll store the dough outside overnight.


now stay tuned! while my cookie dough rests outside in the cold i am in here with a nice cup of tea waiting for another update tomorrow with baking, glazing and decorating ... oh, and eating!

crooked hazelnut macaroons drowned in chocolate

beat one egg white with a pinch of salt until stiff. gradually add 30 g of sugar, keep beating constantly. fold in 30 g ground and roasted hazelnuts. spoon on wafers on a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven at 180 °c for about 20 minutes. place on a rack and let the macaroons cool.


i am steering clear of many processed foods these days. the (radical) changes in my diet with a focus on MS-related nutrition had a pretty positive effect on my body. i feel stronger and more active and i lost quite a few inches around my waist - i had to buy an entire new wardrobe this winter because not a single pair of pants from this spring fits anymore. not keeping groceries like white sugar in my pantry these days (if any, i use brown sugar instead) is quite a handicap when it comes to christmas baking. i still have to figure out how to make all those gorgeous and sugary xmas-kekse without going completely overboard on the healthy ingredients.

lots and lots of sugar, chocolate and grease are mandatory in xmas-keksen, i could never abandon that! as you can see, my new nourisment is not completely radical! using only spelt, whole wheat or/and honey would probably be a mistake - as a child i could detect "healthy" christmas candy blindfolded - and i would never eat it! healthy baking still tastes good, but i didn't quite get the knack of that yet. so i better stick to what i know and love!



but this first attempt in christmas baking was almost a disaster, mostly traditional ingredients and all ... my macaroons where pretty asymmetric and much too brown when i pulled them out of the oven so i decided to cover them in chocolate - entirely - instead of just the bottoms. tastes yummie and covers up my botched work - what more do i need? turns out, only a good cup of tea! thank god i bought a tea-advent calendar again this year, how kitschy am i?!

yes, very.

the 5th day

this has been my traditional maudy thursday meal for the last 30 years ... well, this is how i remember it anyway. and i think everybody in austria is eating this today. you see, in german maudy thursday is "green thursday". and though i am not particularly religious in a roman catholic way the holy week leading to easter has always been one of my favorite catholic holidays. to me, it still is even more special than christmas. maybe it is because of all the spring awakening and nature getting back in bloom ... i always especially liked that all the bells of a church are rung for a last time on maudy thursday and they then remain silent until easter sunday.

because what i really liked about those few days was that there is this very rural tradition of "ratschen" where i was brought up. it pretty much translates to "rattle". a ratsche is a very noisy (not quite musical) instrument and it is used during christian processions from maudy thursday to easter sunday. little kids make as much noise as possible with this instrument in order to replace the bells that have flown to rome. as a child, i always thought that was literally true. but how could bells fly themselves, i wondered ... i think i was a naive child :D (or maybe i was just plain dumb back then!)

up to this day i really like the rememrance of us kids running around the village where my grandparents lived and being as noisy as we could. most of the time we where told to be quiet and behave well ... around easter we where told to run around and be noisy - how fun is that, huh??! very often we even got easter eggs and chocolate from the neighbours ... it was a bit like going trick or treat-ing, now that i think of it ...

though this tradition is not practiced where i live today (after all, this is a city and not a village or a small town) i fondly remember it and i can't wait to get home this weekend and admire the noisy children all around town ...

on the more culinary subject of gründonnerstag i think i am going to eat what has been on my plate for 30 years on that green day: spinach, fried egg (sunny side up) and fried potatoes. it is a lovely culinary tradition, so why break with it? one exception though: instead of a frozen cube of creamspinach i am going to use fresh spinach this time. i have some lovely spinach in my farmbox this week, so i just go ahead and use that to make the cream spinach myself.

i blanched 300 g of spinach and let the water drip off completely
i put the blanced leaves in a food processor and mashed them up
i made a roux / bechamel sauce:

1. i melted 50 g of butter
   
2. i added 2 tbsp of flour
   
3. i poured in 250 ml of cremefine
   (the sauce will thicken as you bring it to a boil, just like a bechamel sauce)

i added the minced spinach and i was bringing it to a boil again
i seasoned it with a clove of garlic and some nutmeg


voila, home made cream spinach!
nothing on earth is better than that.

lime coconut fudge

or: how to make your own homemade bounty bar!

i found the recipe over at is that my buréka? and i thought it was a bit weird at first that you would actually use a potato in a confection sweet. but it just sounded just too good not to try. i have no idea how these little babies should taste, but with my bountybar fantasy in mind i figured i just try to make bite sized minibars.

30 g mashed potato
150 g icing sugar
60 g unsweetened dried coconut shreds
1 tbsp lime zest
150 g milk chocolate

i'm suggesting you turn to burekaboy for the original recipe (because i think i went a little coo-coo on the recipe) and i'll present my little photo lovestory over here:

store the coconut/lime/chocolate-bits in an airtight container in the fridge.
... or better yet: store them in your belly!


and i have to admit: they taste exactly like my favorite chocolate bar!

maybe austrian potatos are different, but i had to use more sugar and much less dried coconut shreds. i also was very surprised that the potato turned all liquid once i added the sugar (apparently because of the potato's starch). they also did not have any peppermint extract at my local supermarket, so i added twice as much lemon zest (if i could marry lemon zest, i probably would! yumm-mmmiiieeee!!). maybe i screwed up the recipe after all, i am always shilly-shally about converting between metric and imperial system. i hate that and its really stupid since i actually am a total tech girl ... but burekaboy suggested a useful tool for all my future cooking conversions!

i absolutely love those little mini bars taken from the delicious peppermint & lime coconut fudge. that recipe is definitely a keeper! i might gain a few kilos if i keep making this candy and all my teeth will fall out eventually - but believe me, it's totally worth it!

and with this last post of 2006 i want to thank you all for stopping by from time to time!

it has been a great year for me and i have made a couple of great friends with my little foodblog! i hope you had a good year too and 2007 is getting even better!

i wish you and your loved ones a happy and healthy 2007!

happy christmas!

"it's christmas! and unless you get your sorry ass in gear another holiday is gonna pass and all you'll have to show is your name urinated in snow!"

"but i like urinating my name in snow! almost as much as i like touching myself!"

hello friends!

i wish it was snowing in austria (not that i'd be able to pee my name in the snow ...), but staying with my folks for the past days definitely got me into the right mood. i'll only be taking a tiny holiday blogging break and i'll be back in a few days. now let me wish you

happy holiday to you and your loved ones!
enjoy lots of good food!
(and blog about it, please *g*)

lets smoke out the malady ...

... with the scent of oranges, shall we?

several fairly large oranges have piled up over the last weeks due to my loss of appetite. actually, i did not use the content of my farm box at all. sure, i could have cancelled the delivery for a while, but i gave my veggies to my mother instead. she ran some errands in linz past week and she happily took all the organic food off my hands (minus apples and oranges).

when i bookmarked this recipe for orangettes over at smitten kitchen a while ago (i am totally smitten by that blog, btw) i figured i'd make those someday along the way ...

well, along the way is today! i am using up the whole batch of these organic oranges and i'll make orangettes and orange marmalade. the orangettes will definitely go into my adventcookie collection for future reference. honestly - i suppose i just will make this candy all year long whenever i peel oranges ...

this first batch probably gets zero points for their messy appearance - i think i have to work on my presentation next time. i did not find a decent way to cover them propperly in all that chocolate! i'm not too experienced with candy making and so i was virtually stuck in chocolate up to my elbows when i was finally done covering the slices ... (stuck in chocolate?! is there really anything wrong with that?)

however, they taste marvellous despite this messy overall impression.

orangettes (original recipe at the food network)

4 large oranges
8 ounces water
8 ounces sugar
16 ounces dark chocolate
16 ounces bitter cocoa powder

1. Slice the ends off of the oranges, score the peel from one end to the other, and remove the peels off the oranges.
   
   
   
2. Slice the peels into thin strips and trim the edges.
   
   
3. Using a medium size pot, place the peels in boiling water and blanch them for a few minutes. Rinse the peels, and repeat this process a second time. This is done to remove the bitterness of the peels.
   
   
4. Prepare the simple syrup by combining the water and sugar in a sauce pot. Bring the syrup to a simmer, place the peels in the pot, and simmer for 1 hour. Once the peels have cooked, remove them from the pot, and place on a rack to cool and drain.
   
   
   
5. Melt the dark chocolate over a double boiler. Dip the candied orange peels in the chocolate, remove them quickly, and roll them in the cocoa powder. Store the orange peels in an airtight container.

make sure to watch the pot while you cook the peels in the syrup! okay, a watched pot never boils, but you will quickly notice that if you set the temperature too high the water may boil off quickly and your slices will start to burn! if there's too little water in the pot just add some more and reduce heat!









the oranges themselves where quickly transformed into orange marmalade:


sugar high friday # 26

technorati tags: sugar high friday

let the pleasant anticipation begin: vanilla crescent christmas cookies

i jumped out of bed like a little child today! it's nikolaustag!

the tradition of saint nicholas is a big thing here in austria. it goes back to nikolaus von myra as you probably know and when i was a child this was one of my favorite festivities in the church year. i did not have a very religious upbringing and i rarely go to church today, i practically only attend weddings, funerals or christenings in my close family and circle of friends. i am not very fond of the fact that advent season starts around mid-november these days and that everything seems to become more and more kitschy and sponsored by coca cola ... but i still love love loooove to celebrate the festivities i couldn't wait for as a child.

us kids would always find little "nikolaussackerl" on the breakfast table decorated with a tiny little rod reminding us that we did not always behave well during the year. the "sackerl" contained little presents, nuts, tangerines, apples, oranges, candy and a little saint nikolaus made of chocolate. while we where still very small children a person dressed up as st. nikolaus acompanied by the evil krampus would knock on our door in the evening, inquire about our behaviour and bring the presents himself. while i just adored the bishop with his flowing beard, miter and staff, i was always very afraid of the krampus, the evil helper that would discipline bad children with his rod and take them away ... of course we never were beaten up by this guy, but if you ask me threatening children to hit them if the are naughty is a very questionable educatinal method!

my mama still made us little presents on nikolaus day as we became teenagers and young adults and so i am still really into this children's holiday ... mama spoiled us for life!

as i am living alone and further away from my family now i need to treat myself to a little st. nikolaus celebration. that day usually marks the start of advent season for me. i throw in a little "last christmas" (kitsch, you say?!) and get in the mood.

and i start baking.

my late grandmother was famous for her vanillekipferl (vanilla crescent chrismas cookies or vanilla cornets in english) and although i can not look back on 60 years of baking experience (yet) i try my best today and make these cookies just like she used to make them. let me share the recipe:

300 g flour
50 g sugar
1 pack of vanilla sugar
200 g soft butter
100 g ground hazelnuts
5 tbsp lukewarm milk
2 packs of vanilla sugar mixed with confectioners' sugar

1. in a bowl, knead all ingredients until you get a dough of firm texture. be careful, the more you knead the more the butter in the mixture will soften. so work rather fast. start by creaming together butter and sugar and add the flour and the other ingredients after that
2. let the dough rest (you can put it in the fridge) for half an hour. cover with wax paper
3. preheat oven to 180 °c
4. pinch off walnut sized pieces of the dough and place them on a cutting board
5. 
   roll each one into a strip and shape them by pulling the strips into a semi-circle
6. arrange the crescents on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes
7. coming straight out of the oven (still hot!) either dust them with a mixture of confectioners' sugar and vanilla sugar or simply pull every single crescent through the sugar mixture in a flat dish or a little bowl
   

they turned out pretty fine although it took a while until i figured out the best way to roll those little strips into crescents. the second batch was by far less crooked than the first one! i wonder what my grandmother would say if she was still alive - i bet she would secretly think "mine are better" but i am also sure that she would be really glad that her former tomboy granddaughter is finally transforming into a domestic maniac cherishing and treasuring her legacy.

where did all the broken crescents go, you ask?

well ... straight into my mouth, baby!